A future mobile communications system needs to support large mobile data traffic increases, massive device connections, and various new services and application scenarios, for example, enhanced mobile broadband, massive machine type communications, and ultra-reliable and low latency communications. Therefore, the mobile communications system needs to have better performance, for example, a larger system capacity, a lower latency, more robust mobility, more precise terminal positioning, higher network reliability, and better network availability. For example, an objective of IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications)-2020 is to conveniently implement intelligent interconnection between human beings and everything.
In a user equipment-centric network, wide area coverage may be implemented by using a hypercell. The hypercell includes one or more subzones, and each subzone is provided with a transmission point having a fixed location. Each hypercell corresponds to a logical entity, and the logical entity is responsible for managing and controlling transmission points of all subzones of the hypercell. A terminal in a subzone can receive, on a downlink, a signal sent by a transmission point of the subzone, and the terminal can also send a signal to the transmission point of the subzone on an uplink. Therefore, how the terminal obtains a channel resource for sending a signal needs to be considered.